BOSTON (CBS) – Before the season started, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco pulled an Eli Manning and said he felt he was an elite quarterback in the NFL.

The Ravens have changed their offense this season, trying the no huddle approach. And all of a sudden, Flacco has shown spurts of being an elite quarterback.

But his coaches thought he was top-notch all along.

“I’m going to have a ton of confidence in Joe,” Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. “It has nothing to do with lack of confidence in anyone else. I like our chances, and as you guys have seen with Joe Flacco, his ability to get the ball to any of those other five. And will we do that (no huddle) all the time? No, but in critical situations you are going to see that a lot.”

Players and coaches from other teams are also voicing their opinions on Flacco, and it’s all positive.

“He’s always been a tough quarterback,” Vince Wilfork said. “He’s been playing very, very well this year. He’s tough, physically. He’s very physically tough, and mentally. He doesn’t let much get to him, and that’s a big time leader when you have a leader, especially the quarterback, who can be physically and mentally tough. It says a lot about that guy as an individual and as a player. He’s definitely . . . he’s playing lights out right now.”

“He’s been pretty good since he came into the league. He’s been a productive guy for them,” said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “They have changed some. They’ve run no-huddle against us before – that isn’t new, but they’re doing more of it now. I think that Coach [Jim] Caldwell and Coach [Cam] Cameron have incorporated that in their offense, however that came about, and Joe does a good job of handling it and running it so he does a good job with it. I think every quarterback, every player grows and improves each year of their career – they should if they’re paying attention. I’m sure he’s had some personal and professional growth as well.”

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Levan Reid is a veteran sports reporter who has joined the WBZ-TV Sports team for the New England Patriots football season. He is a reporter for WBZ-TV’s and The New England Patriots’ flagship programs “Patriots All-...